Occupational Hearing Conservation Services - for Corporations

According to the NIOSH, approximately 22 million U.S. workers are exposed to hazardous noise levels at work, causing an estimated $242 million per year to be spent on worker's compensation due to hearing loss disability. As a result, organizations such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have enacted requirements and procedures for hearing conservation in an effort to standardize hearing safety practices and reduce the incidence of preventable hearing damage. Some states also have their own guidelines, as well as the Department of Defense.

In most cases, OSHA requires that employees who are exposed to a time weighted average (TWA) of 85dB be part of a hearing conservations program which includes hearing testing and employee training. Industrial manufacturers are also required to report evaluation results.

Most companies choose to meet these requirements independently or by hiring a hearing conservation company to conduct hearing evaluations, keep records and make sure they comply with all safety standards and meet safety goals.

Dr. Jennifer Elfert is certified by the Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation
(CAOHC) as a “Professional Supervisor” (PS) for audiometric monitoring programs. Although an in- house Occupational Hearing Conservationist (OHC) must understand issues that might indicate that baseline revision is necessary; regulatory agencies agree that the authority to revise a baseline reference audiogram lies solely with the PS. The responsibilities of the PS are:

Establishment and Supervision of the Audiometric Monitoring Program

Review of Audiograms

Determination of Work-Relatedness

Follow Up of Work-Related Hearing Disorders

Management of the Audiometric Database

At New Jersey Hearing & Tinnitus Center, we offer the following services:

Follow up audiograms to help determine if the STS is persistent (with age correction)

Guidance as to whether the change in hearing is an OSHA recordable STS, due to a medical condition or invalid results obtained during onsite testing

Confirmation of whether the new audiometric data should be considered the revised baseline for future comparison

Referral for further testing as needed

Selection of higher attenuation if necessary

Custom Fit hearing protection devices (HPD’s)

Custom Ear Protection

When properly fitted, earplugs can significantly reduce loud noises and prevent hearing damage and loss. Hearing protectors not properly fitted to the wearer's ears do not effectively prevent damaging noises from penetrating the ear canal. We provide custom ear protection (created by taking an impression of each ear) for your employees to help with fit and compliance.